The Boulton Spring 2019 Issue 8

TheBoulton
ISSUE 08/SPRING 2019

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contents

1 Principal’s Message
2 VbE Quality Mark
3 International Women’s Day
5 ‘Swap a Knife for a Life’ Campaign
6 Year 9 Careers Event
6 Silver at Edgbaston!
7 UoB Research Project
7 Time to Talk Day
8 The NMA’s Nominee 2019
9 And in other news...
11 Boulton Gallery
13 “Get to know me...”
14 Key Dates

Principal’s
Message

Welcome back to a new edition of The Boulton, our and ensure you get plenty of fresh air, outdoor walking
and eat healthy food. Take advantage of the facilities
termly information newsletter. available at the academy: the library, subject teacher’s
We have been involved in a number of projects and events support, targeted revision sessions and act upon feedback
this Spring Term including hosting our very first you receive from your teachers.
Birmingham Regional Hub Day for staff. We welcomed We want your son/daughter to achieve the best grades
colleagues from a number of Ark Schools on our teaching possible, and I know I can count on the support of
and support staff training days. A great chance to share parents in achieving this. Together we will continue to
good practice and collaborate with each other. grow together and reach higher.
Students are always supported with ample guidance and Finally, I would like to wish you a safe and peaceful break
information when approaching a crucial milestone in over the Easter holidays and I look forward to welcoming
their educational timeline. This term our Year 9 students you all back for the Summer Term.
had the opportunity to select their GCSE options for the
first time at Ark Boulton. Subjects such as Citizenship, H K Channa JP FCCT
Psychology and Business Studies have been offered to Principal
enhance student learning and provide a rich curriculum.
In March, we invited our families to meet with staff and
discuss the options process and subjects. Thank you to
our parents, carers and families who helped support the
academy with this important transition.

This year, I marked International Women’s Day with
a special, personal piece from myself. Inspired by the
women in my life and those who I grew up with, I wanted
students and the community alike to look closer to home.

“When I think about my female role
models, I turn to my mother, my

grandmother and my aunt. My mother
was amazingly strong...”

You can read the full article on page 3 of this newsletter. Our Six Pillars

On return in the Summer Term, our Year 11 students will
be embarking on their final examinations. My advice for
students is to prepare thoroughly. Take advantage of the
Easter break by setting a timetable, taking regular breaks,

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Ark Boulton Academy has recently achieved the VbE become role models for siblings and younger generations
and upskill their communities.
Quality Mark (Values-based Education) for underpinning
universal positive human values such as respect, integrity, A strong education must be in service to strengthen
honesty and compassion within the curriculum and society and upskill communities. The Quality Mark
academy life. further endorses the strong links the academy has with
Our virtues curriculum has enabled us to teach students families and the wider community working together to
key life skills for their conduct and character development, strengthen the city of Birmingham and provide
alongside the academic curriculum. Thus, enabling our opportunities and hope for future generations. For it
students to develop key personal skills and aptitudes such takes a whole community to bring up a child.” Mrs
as communication, leadership, team work, and problem Channa, Principal.
solving that are so sought after by today’s top universities
and employers. What is VbE?
“Students are shown as well as taught how to behave with
virtuous character. Ark Boulton staff role model virtues in “Values-based Education (VbE) is a successful
their daily interactions with each other and students alike. worldwide transformational movement for positive
Each member of staff practices commitment and discipline change. VbE empowers educational settings to underpin
in positive engagement within training, research, planning their life and curriculum with universal positive human
and assessment of virtues as part of the whole school values such as respect, integrity, honesty and
culture and ethos. We are a family here at Ark Boulton.” compassion.
Mrs Assi, Assistant Principal - Character Development.
Ultimately, the VbE has allowed our academy to “become The outcome of developing such an ethical vocabulary is
a place where students experience positive values in ethical intelligence, which Dr. Neil Hawkes argues is the
context. They learn how to apply and talk about values most important intelligence for the sustainability of our
appropriately. They become self-motivated, and their world.
behaviour becomes calm and purposeful. Division
reduces, collaboration between student’s increases and The outcome of Values-based Education is self 2
values underpin a sense of unity and positive direction. leadership, which enables each individual to work
Values work in a dynamic way through developing aspects towards fulfilling their wonderful potential.”
such as leadership focus, positive role modelling and
community values.” (VbE).
“It is an honour to have achieved the Quality Mark for
Values Based Education. At Ark Boulton Academy we are
committed to ensuring that all of our children have access
to a strong academic curriculum so they can go onto
university or leave equipped to access a career or
apprenticeship of their choice, however this is only part of
the work we do.
Our character development and virtues curriculum
develops within our children a sense of belonging and
responsibility to look after their parents,

INTERNATIONAL
WOMEN’S DAY

“Look within teaching for
strong female role models”

On International Women’s Day, Principal Channa But not everyone can be a Malala. I want to strip things
back a little and help girls here to connect to women
reminds us that when it comes to role models for girls, they actually know in this community. We need to shine
we can look closer to home. a light on the women here who make things work on a
When I think about my female role models, I turn to my day-to-day basis.
mother, my grandmother and my aunt.
My mother was amazingly strong. She worked long hours Follow your dreams.
in a factory making electronic circuits and still was able to When I started my headship and I first met the parents
come home, do chores and make a meal for her extended and students, many of them assumed that I wasn’t
family. married and didn’t have children of my own. They
It was the same with my aunt, who worked 16 hours a day assumed that it was an ‘either or’ proposition – you
in a sewing factory and then would come home, spend either had a career or you had a family. They were
time with family, get involved with community events and surprised when I told them I was, in fact, married and
still have time to sew things for her family as well. that I have two girls of my own.
I saw how they could juggle all those things and it gave
me an image of women as being extremely capable. They “We need to shine a light on the
taught me about having a sense of duty and commitment, women here who make things
and they showed me that you face up to challenges rather work on a day-to-day basis.”
than making excuses.
In those days, those were the sorts of jobs that were Several mums here have since told me that they didn’t
available to the first generation of Asian migrants in this want their girls to stay at home, raising a family. They
area. The economy has changed and those jobs aren’t there wanted them to have careers and opportunities that they
any more. The students at my school have to be numerate didn’t have. But again, having strong, local role models
and literate, and know ICT and how to navigate the digital allows them to see that you don’t have to choose
world. between a family and a career. The girls need to know
I think when we talk to the girls here at school, there’s a that they’re capable of doing both.
slight disconnect. We’re in the midst of a populist
movement, where people gauge their success by whether
their face is on TV or social media. Some young people
think that if you’re on YouTube then you’ve already
accomplished something with your life. The number of
“likes” has become a measure of success in this new
populist world.
Our girls need to understand that you don’t have to be
famous to be a role model. Malala Yousafzai, for example,
is a great role model – she’s done so many great things.

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We do quite a bit around female empowerment here at Boulton. We took part in the GirlDreamer programme. Based
in Birmingham, GirlDreamer works with girls who have dreams but plenty of barriers and limited ways to pursue their
ambitions due to cultural, societal and/or personal issues. The programme uses lived expertise, cultural understanding
and years of experience to bridge gaps between communities and companies to create authentic change and efficient
access to opportunities.
In addition to this, we arrange sports – we have an all-girls fencing group – and we arrange university visits. These are
designed to help our girls to imagine themselves in university and sometimes, to help their parents get used to the idea
as well. One girl, named Habiba, sent me a note recently about her university visit that really stuck with me. She said:
“Studying at a top university was something I never thought I would have the opportunity to do. This experience has
made a dream into an achievable future. I feel more informed and less scared.”
The theme of this year’s International Women’s Day is “balance for better”. For me this means that we have to make sure
that we treat all human beings the same. There is more that connects us than divides us and it’s not about whether women
do something better or men do something better. Balance is about needing and valuing both genders and what they can
do.
I see, in many of the young girls at our school, some of the same strength that my mother and aunt had.
I think it’s my job, as an educator, to encourage those girls and let them know that when they set their mind to it and are
willing to work, there is so much that they can accomplish.
Mrs H K Channa JP FCCT
Principal

“Studying at a top university was something
I never thought I would have the opportunity
to do. This experience has made a dream into

an achievable future...”

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JUSTICE

“Acting with fairness
towards others by honouring
rights and responsibilities.”

Ark Boulton Virtue

Ark Boulton Academy have been working with Street Doctors and Envision as part of our third community apprentice

project. The students from our ‘Swap a Knife for a Life’ campaign chose Street Doctors based on the vision the charity
encompasses – changing the lives of high risk young people by giving them the skills they need to deliver life-saving first
aid.
“We use first aid as a tool to educate and empower young people, giving them confidence and a sense of responsibility for
their actions, helping to change their attitude towards violence.” (Street Doctors).
The main objective is to give young people the confidence they need to remain calm when faced with an emergency and
first aid incident. If people understand the long lasting damage knife crime and violence can cause, it may well act as a
deterrent, thus helping them to increase their confidence and aspirations and change their attitude to violence.
In light of the recent events in our community, Ark Boulton students produced a video campaign to raise awareness
around knife crime and in memory for those who have lost their lives to this violence. You can view this video on our
social media pages and our academy website under ‘Latest News.’
More recently, the team went to the NEC in Birmingham to raise money and awareness for Street Doctors. They held a
food stall and received great engagement from the public and staff at the NEC.

What can we do to help?
- If you see someone carrying a knife on the way home, tell West Midlands Police by calling 999.
- If you are at school - find a member of staff straight away by walking straight to the member of staff and do not speak
to anyone else. ​99% of 10-29 year olds do not carry a knife.
- ‘Stop and Search’ is used by the police to deter young people from carrying knives.
- Parents should ask where young people are going and ask them what they are taking with them when they go out. ​
- The West Midlands Police advice about carrying knives is: Do not carry weapons.

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Year 9 Careers Event

Students from Year 9 at Ark Boulton Academy took

a tour of the careers and post-16 options available in
their local area, with 8 different businesses taking part
in a structured speed networking session.
Businesses such as Amey, Avison Young, HS2, Intercity
Technology, RBRO Solutions, Shakespeare Martineau
and Tuffin Ferraby Taylor (TFT) joined forces to give
the students an opportunity to explore around their
future careers options and understand what it’s really
like to work in these sectors.
Approximately 180 students took part in this event
asking volunteers meaningful questions around routes
to success and how they might ready themselves for the
future workforce.
Leonie Matthews, Project Coordinator at Ahead Partnership, said: “I was blown away with the year 9 students’
enthusiasm and behaviour during the speed networking session, the feedback we received from our business partners
who attended this activity was extremely positive. They made comments on how well the students greeted them and the
in depth questions they were asking. This year group did the school very proud yesterday.”
This activity runs as part of an overall Careers Programme run at the school by Ahead Partnership.

Silver at Edgbaston!

Congratulations to our Year 10 Cricket Team who

came second to win Silver in the Birmingham Schools
Indoor Cricket Finals at Edgbaston Cricket Ground.
They played against a number of other schools to get to
the finals.
Well done to Basit Ali, Asad, Noor, Zeeshan, Uwais,
Zeshan, and Zeeshan Tahir for playing so well and
making Team Boulton proud.

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UoB Research Project

Two research fellows from the Jubilee Centre for

Character Education and Virtues (part of UoB -
University of Birmingham) visited Ark Boulton
Academy this term to embark on a collaboration
with the academy and a research project focusing on
‘Character Education Research.’
Michael Fullard and Paul Watts commented: “Can I say
a huge thank you for the visit. We found it really useful
and we were extremely impressed by your staff and Ark
Boulton. I think you should be very proud of what you
have achieved and what you are doing. As you said, this
is the real reason we all went into teaching.”
The research team are seeking to understand teachers’
perceptions of character and character education in teaching, as well as the very important issue of how teachers are
prepared and supported to do this via current ‘Continuing Professional Development’ (CPD).
We are honoured to be collaborating on this project. You can read more about this project on the Jubilee Centre website.

Time to Talk Day

This year, our academy supported Time to Talk Day by

raising awareness about mental health to end mental health
discrimination. Our staff deliveed ‘drop-in sessions’ for both
staff and students – a relaxed, informal environment where
anyone in the academy dropped by and have conversations
about mental health and learnt ways to be supportive, resilient
and courageous.
Our pastoral team were on hand to help individuals who may
have wanted to seek advice on issues regarding mental health
- how to combat cyber bullying, coping with exam stress, or
learning how to be there for a friend who needs time to talk.
Useful Links
Time to Talk: www.time-to-change.org.uk
Samaritans: www.samaritans.org
Mind Infoline: www.mind.org.uk

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Ark Boulton Academy was officially nominated for the National Mentoring Awards earlier this year. This was

brilliant news for us as a community, highlighting the successful work we carry out around mentoring for our
students.
In honour of celebrating our nomination, Ark Boulton attended the National Mentoring Awards on Friday 1st
March in Knightsbridge, London. We were shortlisted for two special recognition awards announced on the night.
At Ark Boulton, our students are shown as well as taught how to behave with virtuous character, and the mentoring
scheme set up with One Million Mentors only further supports our whole school culture and ethos.
“We are really humbled to have been nominated for the National Mentoring Awards so early on in our journey of
mentoring with One Million Mentors. We thank our mentors for dedicating their time and know that our students
are benefitting from hearing about their wealth of experience and career advice. It’s a pleasure working with Zahid
Howladar, Delivery Team Manager and Katie Hilder, Regional Manager of West Midlands at One Million Mentors,
and I am sure we will continue to work together for future students.” Mrs Assi, Assistant Principal of Character
Development & Pastoral Care.
Our mentors have left a huge impression on our students, helping them navigate their way through their future
academic studies and career aspirations. Mentees describe their mentors as considerate and knowledgeable,
remembering little personal details about them that they have shared and describing how they go out of their way
to research career options for them in between meeting them. The mentors have helped students to become more
confident in voicing and forming their own opinions and giving them the confidence to be able to achieve whatever
they put their mind to.

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Thank you from Year 9 GCSE Options Choices

Sparkhill Foodbank On Friday 29th March we invited Year 9 students with
their parents and families to discuss a hugely important
The Narthex Centre who run a Foodbank in Sparkhill, time in their educational timeline.
would like to say a huge thank you to the Ark Boulton Students begin their transition to Key Stage 4 and GCSE
community for the donations sent over during December study at this juncture. It will not be long at all before
2018. Year 9 students are taking their final GCSE exams and
Collectively, we managed to donate 720kg of food, that’s preparing to take the next step on their individual
equivalent to 1565 meals! journey, be that going onto university, an apprenticeship
“I was amazed at the generosity of all who donated, nearly or a career of their choice. In doing so we know that our
¾ of a tonne of food. This will really help us in the weeks Year 9 students gain that passport of education that
ahead.” Les Allen, Supervisor at the Narthex Centre. enables them to become role models for their siblings,
look after their parents and upskill our community.

Ark Boulton would like to extend thanks to all students,
staff, parents and the Narthex Centre for helping with this
cause year on year.
And in ot h

A Big Thank You We believe that students will have ample guidance and
We donated support when making the choices of which subjects
they will study for GCSE.
720kg We look forward on further embarking on this crucial
of food journey for our students as they progress onto Key
equivalent to Stage 4.

1565 meals!

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Autism Awareness Month

“Follow the three R’s: Respect for self, Respect for others, Responsibility
for all your actions.”
Dalai Lama

This April marks the annual campaign for Autism Awareness and Ark Boulton Academy will be raising awareness
through our students and community.
“During the month we will try to focus our attention on the issues that people with the Autistic Spectrum Condition
(ASC) face in their everyday lives. We will also promote autism awareness and autism acceptance. There are many
people surrounding us every day who live with this condition. Autism affects more than 1 in 100 people, which means
that over 700,000 people in UK live with this condition. As the cause of autism is still not completely understood, many
people lack understanding and have a misconception as to what autism is and its’ affects. Therefore, increasing
awareness of autism is paramount in ensuring people with autism receive the right support they justly deserve.

her news...

Here at Ark Boulton Academy we want to make sure that all our students with a diagnosis of Autistic Spectrum
Condition have the highest opportunity to achieve the best possible education which will then secure a high quality of
life in adulthood.
We make sure that as a school we provide an inclusive environment for all individuals with this condition and promote
acceptance and appreciation of the unique aspects of our students with ASC. We want to make them feel valued for
their gifts and as the unique individuals they are growing up to be.” Mr Ptak, Leader of Enhanced Provision.

“I see life like a canvas, which tells us about life and our destiny.
The difference between me (an autistic person) and a person that is
not autistic is that whilst they have all the colours in the rainbow to

paint with, I only have the primary colours to curve my destiny.”
Ark Boulton Student.

Autism is a developmental condition of which the cause of is still unknown. The number of people with autism is
increasing. Understanding autism has become ever more important in our society and it presents a significant
opportunity to teach people compassion through awareness.
Often there is a negative stigma attached to people with autism. This is due to the misunderstanding of certain
behaviour. People with autism have wonderful qualities worth recognising and highlighting. A vast number of people
with autism are highly intelligent.

Well done to Mustafa in Year 9 who presented in assemblies
all week infront of his peers.
Mustafa spoke about Autism and how it affects him and
other people with Autism.
It took a lot of courage to stand up infront of so many people
and we are very proud of him.

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Year 7 Science Experiments Boulto
Envision ‘Community Apprentice’ Group Ga

Student Ambassadors Meeting World Recycling Awareness Day

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We raised £113.33 for Red Nose Day! Leading Aspect Award

National Storytelling Week Keeping our community clean and tidy!

on
allery

Easter Raffle for charity ‘Papyrus’ - Mental Health Awareness

First Birmingham Ark Regional Network Hub Day

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“G ektn toow m e . . .Get the chance to find out more about members of staff in the academy.
”What kinds of hobbies do they have, what does their role involve and why did they

join the Ark Boulton Family?

NAME: Mr Clayton

OCCUPATION: Finance Assistant

Why did you choose your profession?
“I chose my profession because of my ability to work with numbers and
remember information. In many of the job roles that I have
undertaken, work colleagues have been amazed at my ability to
remember vast amounts of information and that is the same here
at Ark Boulton.”

What did you study before work?
“I have undertaken several periods of study in my life. After leaving
school I went straight to university. Initially I studied mathematics,
chemistry and computer science. For my second year I focused on the
study of mathematics. I have also studied music.”

Share one thing people may not know about you?
“I am a qualified teacher and taught mathematics for nearly 30 years. I then left teaching and
undertook further studies in Tourism and Business Management and then Hospitality and
Tourism Business Management with a placement at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Birmingham. Finally I
completed an online self study course in accountancy and recently became professionally
qualified.”

Why did you choose accountancy?
“I love the study of mathematics and accountancy because of the logical way in which both areas of
study offer. My own mind works in this way in almost everything that I do both at work and outside of
the work environment.”

Favourite past times?
“Outside of work I enjoy watching sport, especially Aston Villa who I actively support. I also play the
violin and am a member of my local Church. I really enjoy the holiday periods as I love to travel.”

Why did you decide to work at Ark Boulton?
“I chose to work at Ark Boulton because of its’ reputation as a place of great learning. I have the best job
in the world because of the students and adults who work and study here. The vision of the academy is
one that resonates with me personally and I am committed to improving on ones previous best to become
the best version.”

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Key Dates

12th April - Last day of Spring Term
15th April - Easter Break

19th & 22nd April - Bank Holidays
29th & 30th April - Ark INSET Days

Academy closed to all students.
1st May - First Day of Summer Term
All students to return to the academy for an 8.15am start.

We’re on Facebook & Twitter
Follow us @ArkBoulton for daily updates

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Golden Hillock Road | Birmingham | B11 2QG
0121 773 8156 | [email protected]
@ArkBoulton